Lebanon - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Lebanon

Lebanon

September 2, 2025

Beirut 6:30 am

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The Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun (left), receives Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Baabda Presidential Palace, on Sept. 1, 2025.

Lebanon faces tough test as army pushes plan to seize Hezbollah weapons

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed preparations for a cabinet session due this week that will tackle an army plan to take control of weapons outside of the state’s authority.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Israel cautious on Lebanon withdrawal despite Netanyahu overtures, US push

The Trump administration is pressuring Netanyahu to make concessions to the Lebanese government in exchange for its efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem delivers a statement during a ceremony to honor the Shiite cleric Abbas Ali Al-Moussawi, who passed away the week prior, Beirut, Aug. 25, 2025.

Analysis

Attack, concede, stall: Hezbollah’s options as Lebanon advances disarmament plan

Despite mounting US pressure on the government to disarm the Shiite group, its leader, Naim Qassem, says it will not surrender its weapons.

Dario Sabaghi

By Dario Sabaghi

unifil

UN Security Council renews Lebanon peacekeeping mission for one year

The compromise vote gives Lebanon's army buffer time to meet US demands to fill security vacuum in the country's south before a planned withdrawal of UN peacekeepers in 2027.

Latest News

Lebanon's army receives 8 truckloads of weapons from Palestinian camps

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanese PM meets Egypt’s Sisi amid Hezbollah disarmament push: What to know

Lebanon's new Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam delivers a statement at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on Jan. 14, 2025.

Lebanon’s ex-Central Bank chief to be released on $20M bail: What to know

AFP via Getty Images

Canada: Montreal port tied to Hezbollah car trade, presence in Americas

A truck with a container leaves the Port of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 1, 2025. US President Donald Trump unveiled new tariffs on July 31 on nearly 70 countries -- including a blistering 35 percent on neighbor Canada -- as he seeks to reshape global trade to benefit the US economy. However, in a minor reprieve that opens the door to further negotiations, the White House said the measures will take effect in a week for most countries, not Friday as previously expected. (Photo by ANDREJ I

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Joyce Karam

Senior News Editor

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional geopolitics, China in the Middle East

Ali Hashem

In Doha, reporting on Iran, regional politics, conflict

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Rodayna Raydan

In Boqaata, reporting on culture

Lebanon's Minister of Information George Kordahi speaks during a press conference.

Lebanon’s president, prime minister agree on plan to solve crisis with Gulf

Saudi Arabia and its allies are angry with a Lebanese minister over comments he made on the war in Yemen, but the row may actually be about the influence of Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Lebanon Kordahi

Saudi Arabia expels Lebanon's ambassador over Yemen comments

The Kingdom has also halted imports from Lebanon.

Lebanon protest

Lebanon charges 68 in relation to shooting at Hezbollah protest

Six people were killed at a protest against the Beirut port explosion investigation.

Lebanese restaurant still opens its doors despite electricity cut on Oct. 11, 2021, in Beirut.

Food poisoning spikes in Lebanon amid fuel crisis

Increased food poisoning and spoilage in Lebanon is the likely result of electricity shortages that in turn affect refrigeration and other aspects of the supply and distribution chains.

IBRAHIM AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Lebanese president warns against return to 'dark page from our history'

Six people were killed at a Hezbollah-led protest over the Beirut port explosion investigation, prompting fears of another civil war in Lebanon.

Beirut protest

US to give $67 million to Lebanon’s military as violence erupts in Beirut

The Lebanese army deployed in the streets of the capital after at least six people were shot dead during violent protests.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Six killed in shooting at Hezbollah protest over Beirut explosion probe

Hezbollah blamed the Christian political party the Lebanese Forces for the attack.

Illustration picture shows ground zero at a visit to the 'Ground Zero' site and memorial of the Beirut Port explosion of August 2020, in Beirut, Lebanon, part of a six days working visit in Jordan and Lebanon of Belgian cooperation minister Kitir, in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 22, 2021

Beirut port probe suspended again as judge issues warrant for ex-minister

Former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil was sanctioned by the US government last year for corruption.

Saleh al-Baradei, a Lebanese police officer kidnapped along with four soldiers by Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, celebrates with relatives after his release on Aug. 31, 2014.

Lebanese court sentences Syrian fighters to death

The men partook in the 2014 attack by the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra on the Lebanese army in the town of Arsal, according to the Lebanese military.

ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images

Financial crisis endangers Lebanese zoo animals

Amid the economic crisis, zoos in Lebanon are struggling to maintain the proper conditions for the animals.

Tankers carrying Iranian fuel arrive from Syria at al-Ain in Hermel in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Sept. 16, 2021.

Lebanon raises fuel prices again

The Lebanese government previously subsidized fuel prices amid the country's worsening economic crisis.

A woman holds a sign showing a photo of a man reacting at the scene of the 2020 Beirut port blast, as protesters and family members of the 2020 Beirut port blast gather for a demonstration near the UNESCO palace in the Lebanese capital on Aug. 12, 2021, ahead of a parliamentary meeting on the blast investigation.

Lebanese judge sets new date for ex-PM to answers questions on Beirut port explosion

Hassan Diab was previously due to appear before investigators on Sept. 20, but Lebanese media reported he left for the United States.